Craig Tanner was a disappointed man for more reasons than one after watching his Tooting & Mitcham United side drop out of the FA Cup.

The Terrors went down 2-1 at East Thurrock United of the Ryman Premier on Saturday to bring to an end a cup run that had accounted for Three Bridges, Cray Wanderers and, most notably, Bishop’s Stortford of the Conference South.

It has started well in Essex as Dan Summers fired Tanner’s men ahead in the first half of the third qualifying round tie.

However, Mitchell Gilbey’s equaliser in first-half stoppage time was telling, and the hosts went on to edge ahead through Lewis Smith’s second half strike.

Tinashe Nkoma hit the United woodwork as the Terrors rallied, but there was to be no comeback.

Tanner, who reached the first round proper in 2012 with Met Police as a player but missed out through injury, said: “First of all we’re gutted to be out of the competition, but secondly we’re disappointed that we did not reach the high standards we have set ourselves.

“We’re capable of playing a lot better, and we did not do enough on the day.”

He added: “No one player was terribly bad, it was a team thing. We win as a team and we lose as a team.

“The equaliser before half-time was massive, because it gave them the momentum in the second half.

“I’ve been on both sides of that coin, and when you’re the side that was leading, it’s so difficult to pick yourselves up again.

“When we’re ahead, we’re very good at moving teams around and finding the gaps, and we only had five or six minutes of doing that before they scored.

“If we’d come out for the second half still 1-0 up, I think it would have been a totally different game.”

Weather pending, the Terrors return to action in Ryman Division One South tonight (Wednesday) at Redhill, where Frankie Sawyer should be making his first start since rejoining from Hastings United last week.

Tanner is hopeful that Howard Newton, who missed the FA Cup clash with a hamstring injury, will play a part tonight’s game, or in the visit of Aylesbury in the FA Trophy this weekend.